St. Landry democrat., 1887-12-31
own tents and Grant neither saw it nor

own tents, and Grant neither saw it mol
shared it.
Breakfast was rarely earlier than nine and
often as late as ten o'clock, for Grant rose
late whenever there was no need to rise
early, and we always waited till he was
ready to sit down. He hardly ever went to
bed till one or two clock in the morning,
and therefore liked his pillow even if it was
hard He often used to say that he was an
indolent man, and think he was, natur-
ally His temperament was phlegmatic, if
not sluggish; certainly he was disinclined
to exertion after he was forty years of age.
1t was only when spurred on by incentives
that he became SO prompt and energetic.
Then, of course, no one excelled him. He
could outride any of his staff, go without
food or sleep longer than the youngest ;
endure heat or cold, or rain, or fatigue, or
exposure, apparently without i'll effect, or
any effect at all.
Many time on the march have I watched
him sitting upright in his saddle, without a
sign of being worn, after hours, yes, days
and nights, of weary riding. He never
seemed to care to stop for drink or food, or
hardly for rest. When we halted for the
night, of course, the best place was sought
for him, but he accepted with absolute indif-
ference whatever was provided. After the
midnight march that followed the battle of
the Wilderness, we halted toward morning at
Todd's Tavern, where Sheridan had fought
the day before. Grant slept on rough bed
in the tavern and his staff in the porch, or
on the floor. or on the ground outside;
Horace Porter and on some boards in pig
pen. Often I have known Grant lie on the
ground with his saddle for pillow. After
the battle of Champions Hill in the
Vicksburg campaign he slept in the
porch of a farm house occupied within
as a Confederate hospital and all night
he could hear the groans of his
wounded enemies. After the first days fight
at Shiloh he lay at first under tree, but the
rain was furious and he went into field
hospital for shelter, and fell asleep with the
surgeons operating around him. 1t was for
tunate that he was not high strung or nerv-
Gus. Yet he was not indifferent to human
suffering. 1 have known him leave hur-
dle-race because he did not wish to look on
life unnecessarily risked, though, when there
was need, he could witness slaughter, or order
it, unmoved.
In the march from Cold Harbor to the
James river the headquarters wagons got
behind and Grant and his staff had been all
day without food. We halted toward night,
but the train was still behind. Some one
produced SEINE gingerbread Gt must have
been taken from farmhouse on the road),
and this was all the supper we had; but we
munched it under the trees, thinking our
selves lucky indeed, but Grant smoked his
cigar and declined the gingerbread. On the
morning after that night at Todd's Tavern
we were breakfastless. Officers are worse
off than men when the wagons are
behind and staff officers are more absolutely
destitute than regimental officers, for these
can borrow from the kettles of their men,
but shared the coffee of my orderly and
found it so good that l offered a cup to
Grant. He smacked his lips over it, and
soaked a hard biscuit in the tin cup
and this was all he got till late in the day We
reached our next camp in front of Spottsyl-
vania.
Our life City Point was little more
elaborate than this. There our black ser
wants waited on the mess. Horace Porter
and had man between us, who had es-
capped from Richmond. He said he had been
Jefferson Davis's body-servant, and that he
ran away because the "President' meant to
fog him. Jim Pemberton was his name, and
he didn't like battle. When the shells fell
near our headquarters in the Wilderness, he
positively turned pale with fright and de-
clared he wished himself back
in Richmond He would ra-
h.. the; 5: Save: h: sad: than